First modification:
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, arrived in Japan this Thursday, August 4, in the middle of a tour of Asia that has caused controversy after her visit to Taiwan. Pelosi came to Tokyo from South Korea, a government with which she promised to promote the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, based on both diplomatic work and a “strong deterrence” against Pyongyang.
US leader Nancy Pelosi arrived in Japan just hours after that country said that at least five ballistic missiles launched by China against Taiwan fell into waters within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Pelosi, who continues her tour of allied countries in Asia amid diplomatic tension from Beijing and the nuclear threat from North Korea, is scheduled to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday.
Most of the Democratic leader’s day, this Thursday, August 4, was spent in South Korea, where both administrations promised to reinforce their efforts in the face of the “terrible” situation of the “growing threat” from Pyongyang.
“We agree to support the efforts of the two governments to achieve practical denuclearization and peace through international cooperation and diplomatic dialogue, based on strong and extended deterrence against the North,” Pelosi and the North said in a joint statement. President of the South Korean National Assembly, Kim Jin-pyo, after their meeting in Seoul.
Also, in a subsequent press conference, the highest representative of the US House of Representatives highlighted that the two countries discussed ways to promote cooperation on regional security, economic and climate issues.
America & South Korea share an unbreakable bond, forged by decades of friendship & partnership.
Our delegation was honored to meet with Speaker @jinpyokim of the Korean National Assembly & to discuss how we can continue advancing security, prosperity & democracy for our nations. pic.twitter.com/mtZwzbBUiR
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) August 4, 2022
South Korea is a key ally for Washington, where some 28,500 US troops are stationed. There, the US official highlighted the bilateral alliance, “forged in blood” during the Korean War between 1950 and 1953, and the legislative efforts to promote ties between the two nations.
“We also come to tell you that a relationship that began from urgency and security, many years ago, has become the warmest of friendships (…) We want to promote security, economy and governance in an interparliamentary manner” declared the Democratic leader.
Pelosi avoided referring to Taiwan and China during her time in South Korea
Nancy Pelosi had arrived in Seoul on Wednesday after a brief stopover in Taiwan that unleashed the fury of China, which considers the island as part of its territory and whose diplomatic and international relations it judges as an attempt to legitimize its independence.
Despite the challenge that her official trip to Taipei represented, the US official did not refer directly to the situation in Taiwan or the military tests that Beijing began targeting the island as a form of protest.
In recent years, South Korea has been attempting mediation between the United States and China as their rivalry deepens.
Conservative South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol took office last May promising to boost Seoul’s military alliance with Washington and take a tougher line against North Korea’s provocations.
China deployed scores of plans and fired live missiles near Taiwan in its biggest-ever drills in the Taiwan Strait, a day after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a solidarity trip to the self-ruled island https://t.co/vDihAMPNPU 1/5 pic.twitter.com/I22UhKkeVO
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 4, 2022
However, Pelosi did not meet with Yoon and instead had a phone conversation. According to official information, because the president is on vacation, but some critics point to an attempt by the head of state to avoid upsetting Beijing, South Korea’s largest trading partner.
With Reuters and AP
#Pelosi #arrives #Japan #promising #Seoul #support #denuclearization #North #Korea